Hadzic's Regional Anesthesia > Part II. Foundations of Regional Anesthesia > Section One. Anatomy & Electrophysiology > Chapter 2. Embryology Patrick M. McQuillan, MD

Embryology: Introduction

"A thorough understanding of the underlying anatomy is fundamental to a logical approach to the techniques used in regional anesthesia. An appreciation for the embryologic development of tissues and structures can significantly add to the understanding of functional anatomy as it relates to regional anesthesia. In this chapter I emphasize the embryologic development of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral and autonomic nervous systems, as well as the musculoskeletal system as it pertains to regional anesthesia. Many excellent comprehensive texts on embryology are available. For this chapter, I have relied heavily on information from primary texts and refer the reader to them for a complete discussion of all embryologic development. The first two, Langman's Medical Embryology¹ and Basic Concepts in Embryology,² are valuable for their ease of readability, clarity of figures, and clinical correlations. Human Embryology and Developmental Biology³ is a good contemporary, comprehensive explanation of the molecular genetics of embryologic development. The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology⁴ is the time-tested standard text of embryology...."